Air Canada will offer summer flights between Toronto and Atlantic City International Airport giving the resort direct access to the Canadian market.
The flights will include $705,000 in yearly subsidies—for three years—from the New Jersey Casino Reinvestment Development Authority, which oversees Atlantic City tourism and redevelopment projects.
The airline will fly four days per week from Toronto between Memorial Day and Labor Day. Officials said flights from Montreal could be added if there is enough customer demand.
The deal still must be finalized and exact dates and airfares were not announced. The service will fly with 74-seat turboprop planes, with flights taking about 90 minutes, officials said.
The move is another attempt to boost air traffic to Atlantic City International Airport, which currently only has one operator, Spirit Airlines.
The Air Canada service, however, could supplement and already strong presence of Canadian tourists at the New Jersey Shore in the summer.
“Canadians are already coming down to the Jersey Shore. This will bring even more of them here,” Atlantic City Mayor Don Guardian told the local Press of Atlantic City. “I think the old days of Canadians coming down here and spending 10 days are gone. If you can save one or two days of travel time by flying instead of driving, this air service should be good. Younger people are looking for shorter trips. This service will be geared toward the millennials.”
